In This Issue

Conference News

Submit a Session Proposal for BuildingEnergy NYC

Want to help transform the built environment by putting your ideas in front of hundreds of professionals looking to improve their practices? Then submit a session proposal for this year's BuildingEnergy NYC Conference + Trade Show, to be held October 4, 2018. The deadline to submit is April 16.

Proposals will be reviewed and vetted by a volunteer NESEA-member content committee to ensure that conference sessions are data-driven, diverse, and genuinely useful to attendees.

This year's Conference Chairs are particularly interested in receiving proposals for sessions that are interactive, present lessons learned from case studies, and address the topics of embodied carbon and life cycle assessment; net zero and Passive House/Passivhaus retrofitting; the planning process; iterative and optimized design process; and connecting financiers with high performance projects.

Thank You for Another Amazing BuildingEnergy Boston!

Based on feedback from attendees, this was the most successful BuildingEnergy Boston to date! The new venue, dates, and format created a more inclusive, communal event with even more opportunities for engaging conversation. We can't wait to see you for next year's event, March 13-15, 2019.

You can view select photos from the event here. Presentations from a number of conference sessions are now available here. If you are interested in joining the Content Committee for next year's event, contact Miriam Aylward at maylward@nesea.org.

Reflections on NESEA Night 2018

NESEA Night is a favorite tradition at BuildingEnergy Boston, and this year's event lived up to its storied past with many saying it was the best in years. Read NESEA member Jamie Wolf's reflections on the 2018 event. "Magic happened this year at NESEA Night, and I’m eager to tell you about it."Read more...

Pro Tour News

April 20 New NZE Multi-Family Housing

Northampton, MA: Attendees of this Pro Tour will learn how this site was transformed from a single-family condemned house to 4 combustion-free, net-zero duplex homes. This event, hosted by Wright Builders, will begin with a presentation from the team behind this infill project. They will detail the history and lessons learned and offer this project as an example for municipalities looking for ways to infill for community, housing, and tax support without extending infrastructure.

Please note: To receive member pricing when registering for this event, you must be logged in to your nesea.org account.

May 4 Resilient, Passive Mid-Rise in Urban Setting

Queens, NY: This Pro Tour will showcase a 103-unit mid-rise, which was built to expand the designated affordable housing units in the Far Rockaways area of southern Queens in New York City. This project was built to Passive House standards with special attention to resiliency features for extreme weather events, including a bioswale for storm water retention.

Please note: To receive member pricing when registering for this event, you must be logged in to your nesea.org account.

View photos from the March 30 Pro Tour of Fine Homebuilding magazine's NZE Teaching Home in Wilder, VT.

Other NESEA News

Pinnacle Windows First Sustaining Donor to Capacity Campaign

Kris Brill of Pinnacle Windows has made a three-year pledge to NESEA’s Capacity Campaign, committing to donate $4,000 per year for each of the three years of the campaign. This multi-year commitment makes Kris our first Sustaining Donor! We are so grateful for his commitment and generosity to NESEA. Here’s Kris’s story:

"After 10 years in the glazing industry and a few years representing architectural windows and doors to the northern New England community, I realized that there was a very select group of architects and builders that I wanted to continue to work with and spend my career serving. These folks talked to
me about their desire for windows and doors that actually performed well in our climate and were easily obtainable for their clients.

They talked about Zero Energy homes, about LEED Certification, and about Passive House. In 2009, with the economy in the toilet, I decided to quit the comfort of my job and strike out on my own starting Pinnacle Window Solutions. My focus would be to offer the northern New England community a source for high performance windows and doors made here in North America. I hoped that my relationship with folks like Kaplan Thompson Architects, Richard Renner, Christopher Briley, Taggart Construction and other Maine high performance
trail-blazers would allow me to put small amounts of cheese bread on the table for my wife and children. It was this local building and design community that first told me of NESEA. Phil Kaplan specifically said, “You need to come to BuildingEnergy, these are your people.” Read more...

Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track) Sustainable Architecture & Building Science Program at Keene State College

Keene, NH - The Department of Sustainable Product Design and Architecture at Keene State College invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the Sustainable Architecture and Building Science Program (SABS) beginning fall 2018. The focus of the position will be teaching courses in building science, sustainability, renewable energy, high performance building systems, and environmental design. Course formats include classroom teaching, lectures, and laboratories, and working with students on applied research projects. Learn more...

Full-Time Solar Installer Electrician at PV Squared

Greenfield, MA - The Solar Installer Electrician is a key member of the Installation Team and will be responsible for ensuring our systems are installed to design specifications, meet high expectations on quality and in compliance with all code regulations. Valid Massachusetts Journeyman Electrician License required. Learn more...

Director of Engineering at New Ecology, Inc.

Boston, MA - The Director manages New Ecology’s engineering services and provides supervision, mentorship, and development of the engineering department and serves as a member of New Ecology’s management team. In addition to management duties, the Director also provides technical support to New Ecology’s green building projects. Learn more...

Member-to-Member News

We’d like to help spread the word about upcoming member events and news items. Use this form to let us know about your event/news and we’ll include it in the next Members Monthly.

BuildingGreen’s Wellness Frameworks Webinar Series

Where: Online

When: April 17 & May 8

Cost: $65 ($30 for BuildingGreen members)

Are your clients asking you about wellness? You’re not alone. Healthy interiors and wellbeing are the trending buzzwords of sustainable design. BuildingGreen is offering a two-part live webinar series that provides an overview of WELL and Fitwel, and covers how to earn the WELL AP and Fitwel Ambassador credentials. Continuing educations credits will be available for both webinars. Register for the WELL and Fitwel webinars here.

Rescheduled & Remaining MassSave Listening Sessions

The Mass DOER has scheduled listening sessions to provide the public with an opportunity to offer comment on the Mass Save® programs. The times and locations for the rescheduled and remaining meetings are listed below. More details on upcoming listening sessions can also be found here.

Springfield: April 5, 6–8pm, University of Massachusetts Center, 1500 Main Street, Springfield, MA

NEWIEE Annual Gala

Where: Boston, MA

When: Tuesday, May 1

Cost: Varies

The NEWIEE (New England Women in Energy and the Environment) Awards recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of women leaders in the fields of energy and environment. These women have achieved professional excellence within their area of specialty and have actively paved the way to success for other women in similar or related professional areas.

Join us for dinner and cocktails and to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of women leaders in the fields of energy and the environment.

Become a HERS Rater with the NEHERS Alliance!

Where: Berlin, CT

When: May 14–25 online + June 4–8 in person (Deadline to register is May 1)

Cost: $2595 (Register by April 17 to receive $200 off)

The Alliance is pleased to offer a comprehensive training package that includes everything a student needs to be fully prepared to become a HERS rater. Our hybrid HERS rater training classes have an online component, which includes all of the building science theory, and a classroom component, which includes all of the hands-on practical training and testing that is necessary to become a rater. HERS rater training is the first step towards rater certification. To learn more about the requirements for certification, click here.

Net Positive Symposium for Higher Education

Where: Amherst, MA

When: June 25–26

Cost: Varies

On June 25–26, the Living Future Institute will present the Net Positive Symposium for Higher Education at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. This event will highlight university campuses adopting the Living Building Challenge and the Living Community Challenge and their holistic, multi-generational approach to sustainability, resiliency, health, innovation, and equity. Learn more and register here.

MassDOER Seeks Contractors for Pilot Program

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources will be adding up to another six contractors for its Home MVP pilot. Home MVP is a contractor-focused initiative to provide comprehensive energy upgrades for one to four family homes. Contractors receive an incentive based on energy savings. They can choose to share all or part of the incentive to encourage a customer to proceed with the work. NESEA members who are interested in participating should email Lawrence Masland (lawrence.o.masland@state.ma.us) for an application form
and a copy of the program rules. Applications are due by April 16th. Contractors selected for the pilot will have half day training in Westborough on April 26th.

Auburndale Builders Opens New Training Facility in Newton, MA

NESEA business member Auburndale Builders in Newton, MA has opened a training center called the Studio for High-Performance Design & Construction (SHPDC). This brand-new learning facility is retrofitted from a vintage concrete block structure to a certified passive office facility. To-date, only 31 zero energy retrofits have been documented in the US (source: Thousand Home Challenge) making this the 32nd structure. Click here for a list of courses and more info.

MA Energy Efficiency Advisory Council Election

The Massachusetts Energy Efficiency Advisory Council has an upcoming election for the stakeholder seat represented by a contractor. Any contractors who have participated in any aspect of delivering the Mass Save programs or rebates during the current 3-year plan from 2016-2018 are eligible to vote. Details on candidates and voting will be available on the EEAC website in the coming week.

NESEA Board Member Martine Dion Named to the AIA College of Fellows

Join us in congratulating NESEA Board Member Martine Dion of SMMA, who was recently named to the AIA College of Fellows. According to the AIA, "AIA Fellows are recognized with the AIA’s highest membership honor for their exceptional work and contributions to architecture and society. The prestige of FAIA after your name is unparalleled and the judging is rigorous. Architects who have made significant contributions to the
profession and society and who exemplify architectural excellence can become a member of the AIA College of Fellows. Only 3 percent of the AIA members have this distinction."